


Third Time's the Charm

by CharacteristicallyMinor



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Break Up, Depression, F/M, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 01:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4588731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharacteristicallyMinor/pseuds/CharacteristicallyMinor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will, Sam, and Kate throughout the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time: 2002-2003

Sam had asked Will out the day he met him. Will was a brilliant writer, but that wasn't the only thing that drew Sam to him. There was something about his determination and idealism that struck a chord in Sam. It made Sam long for the the beginning of the first Bartlet campaign, back when they were fighting for their ideals rather than just fighting to stay afloat. 

Looking back on their relationship, Sam could see that it was doomed to fail. They probably spent a total of four days together over the course of the whole relationship, and they were both too busy to sustain a fledgling long distance relationship. 

But more than that, Sam really wasn't in a good position to be starting a relationship. He was too weary. He was so damn sick of constantly fighting battles that never seemed to make any difference. He'd told Will that he would run for Congress in the hopes of doing something that mattered, but that had backfired. Campaigning was possibly the most miserable experience of his life. At least when he had worked in the west wing, he'd been surrounded by friends. 

Sam didn't tell anyone, but he was secretly a bit relieved when he lost the election. He was self-aware enough to know that becoming a Congressman was possibly the worst thing he could do, given his current mental state. 

After the campaign, Sam had asked for a week off before he went back to working at the White House. Leo had granted it without argument. Sam wondered if Leo could see how worn down he was. Or maybe he was just projecting, and Leo had just wanted to give him some time to recover from losing the election. 

Sam didn't think Leo would be so happy about his next request, though. 

Sam had thought long and hard about his life during that week. He'd realized that he was not okay, and he probably hadn't been for a while. 

Although Sam was usually considered a master wordsmith, there was one word that he had been evading for the past few months. It was depression. 

Sam had been depressed when he was younger, and he was familiar with the way it felt. That didn't mean he was willing to accept that he was having the same problems again. He was mostly able to get through the days normally. Mostly. He could ignore the occasional vague desire to cry for no reason. And he felt intensely guilty about every mistake and failure, but he justified the guilt with the thought that his career carried with it far greater repercussions for mistakes. And the faint feeling of dread that accompanied almost every action he took could be attributed to his anxiety about the election.

Nights were bad, though. Sam didn't do well when he was alone with his thoughts. He was often filled with directionless fury or causeless misery. He wanted to scream sometimes, but he didn't. He wanted to cry often, and he sometimes did. 

Sam had cast it all off as pre-election stress, but it wasn't. Taking a break had made him realize that he needed to make changes in his life. 

The depression and his job weren't completely related, but the amount of stress his job caused was unbearable when combined with depression, and he had bore it for far too long. He had loved his job, but it was no longer making him happy or feeling worthwhile. 

Sam decided to quit his job on the third day of his week off, and spent the next three days trying to muster up the emotional energy to make several phone calls. The day before he was scheduled to fly back to D.C., he finally did it. 

Leo was the first.

"Hello?" asked Leo.

"Hi," Sam said nervously.

"Sam! Glad to hear from you. You're back tomorrow, right?" Leo asked.

"Actually, that's what I'm calling you about. I'm resigning," Sam announced abruptly, before he had the chance to lose his courage.

"What?" Leo asked, sounding shocked. "Is this about Will? We didn't hire him to replace you; we wanted to hire him so you and Toby would have to spend less time on the little stuff."

"No, it's not about Will. I'm happy he's working there; you'll be in good hands. I just- I'm worn out. Working for President Bartlet has been amazing, but I don't think I have the energy to do it any more," Sam admitted.

"Are you serious?" Leo asked. "Why don't you take another week off? You're probably just burned out after the election. It happens."

"It's not that," Sam paused after he spoke. He knew that he was going to have to tell Leo about his depression, but he didn't want to. "I've been pretty depressed for a few months now, since back before the presidential election. I was ignoring it and hoping it would go away, but it hasn't. I can't do my job like this, and trying would only make things worse for myself."

Leo was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that. Would you rather take a few months' leave, and come back when you're ready to?"

"I don't know if I'm ever going to be ready to, and I'm just going to feel guilty about being gone if it isn't a clean break. Well, guiltier than I already feel, I guess," Sam said ruefully.

"Alright. Then I accept your resignation, although if you ever do want to come back there will be a place for you. Do you want to tell the President, or should I?" Leo asked kindly. 

"I'll do it," Sam said resolutely. Talking to President Bartlet about his depression was the last thing he wanted to do, but it would be wrong not talk to him about quitting.

"What about the rest of the senior staff?" Leo asked.

Sam considered it. Talking to Josh sounded intensely stressful; even though Josh was his best friend, Sam doubted he'd understand. In fact, having any more conversations than he had to sounded pretty horrible. Talking to Leo and the President would be bad enough. Although, there was one more conversation he needed to have; one that he was particularly dreading.

"You tell them. But could you give me an hour or two first? I need to talk to Will," Sam said.

"Will?" Leo asked, sounding confused. "You've only met him a few times, right?"

Sam considered whether to lie. He had never been out at work; he'd never needed to be, since he mostly dated women anyways. He knew that Will was out, though, and Sam wasn't going to be working there any longer. 

On the other hand, Will probably wouldn't want the contents of their conversation known. 

"We've been talking on the phone. I don't want him to be surprised by the extra responsibility he's going to have," Sam said. 

"Okay then," Leo said, sounding unconvinced. Then, his voice got kinder. "Are you going to be okay? You know we're here for you, right? If it would help for one of us to come and see you, just let us know and we'll come."

Sam wondered if Leo was asking if he was suicidal. The answer was the same either way. "I will be okay eventually. I need some time. And I know. Thanks."

"Right, then," Leo said. "Do you want me to transfer the call to the President?" 

"Sure," Sam said. He wasn't ready, but he doubted he was ever going to become ready.

Sam waited for President Bartlet to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" President Bartlet said. He sounded serious. Sam wondered what Leo had told him.

"Hello, Mr. President," Sam said. He paused, steeling himself for the conversation.

"Leo said you have something to tell me?" President Bartlet said, sounding concerned.

"I'm resigning. I've been depressed for months now, and it's gotten to the point that I can no longer ignore it and hope it goes away. I can't work here and recover at the same time," Sam said. 

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sam. It pains me that you have to deal with this. You take all the time you need to get better, and there will be a job for you if you decide that you want to come back later," President Bartlet said. 

"Thank you. Leo said as much," Sam paused. "I'm sorry."

"Nonsense. It's not your fault. I'm glad that you're taking care of yourself, and everyone else will feel the same way," the president said sternly. 

"Thanks," Sam said, unable to come up with anything else to say. He knew that he was making the right move by taking care of himself and quitting, but that didn't mean he was going to stop feeling guilty about leaving.

After his phone call with the president ended, Sam took a few minutes to try and calm down. After a few minutes, he realized that he was not currently capable of being calm, so he gave up and dialed Will's phone number.

"Hey, Sam," Will said. Sam could hear the smile in his voice, and it just made things worse. 

"Hi. What are you doing right now?" Sam said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He was already upset about quitting, and the fact that he was about to break up with Will was just making things worse. 

The terrible thing was that Sam thought that Will was someone he could really love, if the circumstances were better. He knew that being in a relatively new long-distance relationship was causing him a lot of stress, but that didn't mean he didn't wish he could make it work.

"I'm in my office, working on the speech for the Ambassadors' Dinner. Are you okay?" Will asked, sounding concerned. "You sound upset."

"I just quit. I love this job, or at least I used to love it, but I'm so worn out. I've been depressed for months, and I know that it's not going to get better if I keep working at the most stressful job in the world. And it no longer feels worthwhile, although that's probably because nothing feels worthwhile at the moment. I need to take some time for myself, so that I can- you know, I keep using the phrase 'get better,' but I've been depressed before, and really, it's probably more realistic to hope it gets more manageable, or less terrible," Sam said. He knew he wasn't giving Will a chance to reply, but he just had to say everything he wanted to before he lost his nerve. 

He continued, "But I'm not calling you about that, not really. I've realized that I can't keep dating you. I'm sorry, I really really wish I didn't have to do this. But I've realized that I need to focus on taking care of myself. We never get to see each other, which is nobody's fault, but I keep feeling guilty about that. And I'm not coming back to DC, and you're not coming back to California. And at the moment, the idea of talking to anyone on the phone makes me want to cry, which is why it took me three days to muster up the energy to quit and to call you. I'm just not emotionally stable enough to be in a relationship at the moment. I'm so sorry."

Will was quiet for a bit, presumably processing everything that Sam said. Then, he said, "it sounds like you're going through a really tough time. I'm glad you're making the decision to take care of yourself, even though quitting must be really hard. And I understand why you're breaking up with me. Even though I wish it wasn't necessary, it sounds like staying together would be a lot harder on you."

At that point, Sam started crying a bit. 

"I'm really sorry. I should have realized I was having issues earlier instead of- of leading you on and making you think you were dating someone who wasn't quietly falling apart," Sam said. 

"I don't agree. I'm glad we did date for a while, even though it's ending. You're a really great person, Sam, and I don't regret the time we were together," Will said. He sounded like he was trying not to let Sam hear that he was upset. Sam could do nothing but be selfishly glad that Will was staying calm. Sam didn't think he could deal with hearing Will cry at the moment. 

They said their goodbyes, and promised to still keep in touch. Sam didn't, though. He replied to the first few e-mails from Will, but he took longer to reply each time. Eventually, he just stopped, and the e-mails stopped soon after. 

Sam regretted not keeping in touch with Will, but he figured that he should be using his energy to keep in touch with people he'd known longer, like Josh, Toby, and CJ.

Whenever Sam talked to Josh, Josh always sounded guilty. Sam knew that Josh was blaming himself for this situation, like he blamed himself for everything. Sam wasn't sure if Josh felt guilty because he was the one who brought Sam to come work for President Bartlet, or because he had urged Sam to campaign for the 47th, or because he hadn't noticed that there was something wrong. Sam didn't blame Josh for any of those things, but he wasn't successful in convincing Josh to stop blaming himself. They still talked, but it was awkward- Josh not wanting to rub what Sam was missing in his face, Sam not wanting to seem too relieved about having left.

Toby was quiet. Sam was glad that Toby hadn't defaulted to his usual mode of communication and yelled at him, but Sam was never sure what to make of this lesser-seen quiet side of his. Sam suspected that Toby was understanding but regretful. They e-mailed each other sometimes, but not too often. More often, Sam sent a note about a speech Toby had written, or Toby sent comments about some article or speech he'd read. 

Sam thought that if anyone had suspected he would leave, it was CJ. It was her job to be aware of potential problems they would face. Well, that and the fact that Josh and Toby were both not the most empathetic people. Sam didn't think CJ had known, per say, but she wasn't as surprised as everyone else. CJ was sad that he had left, but she accepted that it was best for him. CJ e-mailed him fairly regularly- nothing too serious, just updates on how everyone was doing. She always added a postscript saying that it was fine if he wasn't up to replying. He really appreciated that, although he replied to her e-mails reasonably often. 

As for Sam himself, things were slowly improving. The lack of work-related stress in his life helped him have enough energy to function on a day-to-day basis. A few months later, he did get a job consulting at a corporate law firm. He chose one with integrity, after what had happened with Gage Whitney and the Indio. It wasn't particularly exciting or satisfying, but he was happier than he would have been unemployed, and the fact that he was just consulting prevented him from becoming stressed out. He wrote sometimes- not often, at first, but steadily more over time. He thought it might become a book someday, although he wasn't sure. 

It wasn't the most exciting way to live his life, but Sam was finally okay.


	2. Time: 2006-2007

Will had been surprised when Kate had asked him out. He'd been interested in her before, but he'd never seriously considered the possibility that she'd actually reciprocate his feelings. 

Will was really happy with Kate, moreso than he'd expected. It had been years since he'd dated; his last relationship had been almost four years ago, and even that had been a long-distance relationship that neither party had been able to devote much time to. Even though Sam had technically also been a colleague, there was something different about dating someone who actually worked with him on a day-to-day basis. Will liked the ways their chaotic lives overlapped; how Kate was never surprised or angry when he had to work insanely long hours. 

Of course, Will wasn't just dating Kate because she was convenient. She was also fun to be around, brilliant, and gorgeous. More than anything, Will's romantic type was someone he loved talking to. Will loved bantering with Kate just as much as he loved making serious political plans with her. Will was aware that he was more than a bit smitten with her.

Of course, Will and Kate also specialized in awkward moments. Although some of them were caused by Will's innate awkwardness, the majority of them were of the sort that occurred when two people who hadn't dated in years and had no lives outside of their careers got together. Whenever Will looked back on the time he had returned Kate's bra to her by bringing it to the White House in an envelope, he couldn't help but wince. 

Happily, one particular conversation that had the potential to be very awkward turned out perfectly fine. After their first few dates, Will decided that he should tell Kate that he was pansexual. He'd never hidden his sexuality, but very few people had actually asked him about his romantic life, and he hadn't gone on any dates recently. He wasn't sure what Kate would have heard through office gossip. 

That night, when they were walking out to their cars after a long day at the office, Will said, "So. I have something to tell you. Unless you've already heard; I'm not sure if it's common knowledge or not."

"If it's something that might require me to go back to work, please tell me tomorrow," Kate said with a wry smile. "I have really, really been looking forward to getting some sleep."

"No, it's not work related. It's about me," Will said. He'd stopped walking, and Kate did the same.

"That sounds ominous," Kate said, giving him a small smile to show she was mostly joking.

"It shouldn't change anything, but I thought you should know I'm pansexual," Will said, unable to keep his tone from revealing a twinge of nervousness. Although Will hadn't actually been in the closet for years, it was never completely easy to come out.

"I'd heard. Although the office gossip said bisexual, but the rumor mill is always a bit off," Kate said. Will was relieved to see that she was still smiling. He was glad that she hadn't had an issue with his sexuality. He hadn't thought he would, but it was never a sure thing.

"A lot of people get the two confused. I identify as pan because I like people completely regardless of gender," Will clarified. 

"I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me," Kate said.

Will's reply was interrupted by a loud yawn from Kate. 

"Sorry," she said. "I'm just so tired."

"I'll drive you home," Will offered. "I'm not sure you're awake enough to drive."

"That's probably a good idea," Kate said. "Sorry I interrupted our conversation."

"It's fine," Will said. "You were awake for the part that mattered."

Soon, driving each other home once in a while turned into staying at each other's houses most nights. Even though they'd only been dating for a few months, Will started thinking that he might have a future with Kate. 

Of course, the impending inauguration loomed over their heads. Will figured that what they did after they no longer worked together would make or break their relationship. He hoped they would survive it, but he wasn't sure. 

Will had hoped that they would both stay in DC. He wasn't making any long term plans for their relationship yet, but he wanted the possibility of long term plans to be there. But then he starting trying to find a candidate for the Oregon 4th. 

At first, when Kate told him he should run, he didn't want to. He knew that running would almost definitely spell the end of their relationship; they'd be living across the country from each other for most of the time. Will knew he wasn't good at maintaining long distance relationships; he knew that his breakup with Sam had little to do with him, but he still felt guilty about it sometimes. 

At the time of the inauguration, Will had decided he was definitely going to run. This was the correct career move, and he didn't want to sacrifice that for a new relationship. Meanwhile, Kate was at loose ends. Will couldn't help but feel resentful towards the Santos administration for not taking advantage of her skills.

That changed a week later, when Arnold Vinick called Kate to talk about making her the new Deputy Secretary of State. Apparently, Josh had recommended her as someone who was extremely well-qualified, despite her age, as well as being moderate enough to get along with both Vinick and the democrats of the Santos Administration. Kate was thrilled. Will shared her excitement, although he regretted the fact that their probable breakup had just become inevitable. 

That night, they broke up. They were both sad and regretful about it, but they had to put their careers first. Kate had to be confirmed by the Senate; she was politically moderate enough to have a good chance of success, but her relationship with a liberal congressional candidate would be a liability to the confirmation process. Will knew that voters wouldn't like the idea of him having a girlfriend who spent most of her time in another country; some would interpret it as a sign that he wasn't completely dedicated to their district. And besides that, they'd both be too busy and too far away to allow their relationship to develop anyways. 

Will wished Kate all the best, although he did wish they hadn't had to end their relationship. He was glad that their sacrifice had paid off. Will became the Congressman for the Oregon 4th, and Kate became the Deputy Secretary of State. Will read her book on foreign policy when it came out, and he was impressed. He was glad that he'd had the chance to be with her for a while, even though it had had to end so soon. Will did wonder why he left all of his relationships feeling that way; perhaps he just wasn't made for long romances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not completely positive that Kate's career trajectory is realistic, but two former Deputy NSA advisers, Tony Blinken and James B. Steinberg, have become Deputy Secretary of State afterwards (Blinken immediately afterwards, Steinberg several years later).


	3. Time: 2009-August 2011

Kate was pretty happy with her life. She was the Deputy Secretary of State- not exactly the career she'd hoped for, sure, but she was very happy with the way her career was going. She had a pretty impressive resume, and she'd even published a successful book. 

She was also happy with her romantic life. She didn't have the best track record; she had two divorces and a habit of putting her career before her personal life. But she'd been dating Sam Seaborn for over two years, and their relationship was thriving. 

Kate had met Sam through her career, of course. Sam had originally worked for a few months as President Santos's Deputy Chief of Staff, but he'd changed positions as soon as the Santos Administration was stable enough. Sam had become a consultant; he helped out in the West Wing whenever they were particularly swamped, in a position not too different from the one Leo McGarry had held after his first heart attack. 

The official story was that Sam wanted to focus on writing. It was true that Sam was writing a popular series of fantasy novels, and that he loved writing them. That being said, Kate knew that the real reason Sam had limited his time at the White House was his depression. He'd told her that it hadn't been unmanageable since around the time he ran for Congress, but that he knew the constant stress of working at the White House just made him miserable. Kate was glad that Sam had found a way to take care of himself while still doing things he loved. She actually found his attitudes towards his work refreshing, after being surrounded every day by people who were working themselves to death. 

Since Sam was a consultant, Kate hadn't seen him too often. Even when they did happen to both be at the White House, they usually worked on different issues. 

However, that changed in January. Kate was dealing with a war threatening to break out in Qumar, while Sam was temporarily working full time until the State of the Union was written. Kate and Sam kept seeing each other at night in the cafeteria. They started talking and the rest, as they say, was history.

Kate and Sam had been dating for two and a half years and living together for a year and a half when they were invited Josh and Donna's wedding. Sam and Kate were thrilled for their friends. Josh and Donna had been engaged for about a year, but they'd waited until after Santos had won the election to set the date. Donna and Josh had chosen August, since both the Senate and the House had a long recess then, and it was the closest they could get to a slow time. 

As Josh's best man, Sam started taking on new duties related to wedding planning. A lot of the responsibilities that the bride and groom would normally take on were being delegated, since the Chiefs of Staff for the POTUS and FLOTUS were both extremely busy. Since both the Santoses and the Bartlets were planning on attending the wedding, the Bartlets had offered to host the wedding at their farm, as it was already secured by the Secret Service. The Bartlets were taking care of a lot of details of the venue, Donna's family was in charge of food, and Josh's mom was taking care of the flowers. This left Sam to deal with the guest list and the bachelor party.

Planning the bachelor party was no trouble, but the guest list was more difficult. Every guest had to go through extensive security checks, and the political ramifications of each guest had to be considered.

The wedding was fairly small, but figuring out which of Josh and Donna's friends to invite became more complicated due to the fact that most of them also worked in politics. Sam, Josh, and Donna spent a week going through the political ramifications of inviting Toby before they finally decided it was worth the risk of inviting him. Sam and Josh decided against inviting Josh's old friend, Congressman Matt Skinner; inviting him would anger too many Democratic Congressmen who Josh wasn't close enough to to invite to his wedding. One of Donna's cousins wasn't invited to the wedding due to her rather militant style of environmental activism.

Sam regaled Kate with tales of the wedding planning craziness when they got home at night, and Kate helped him with planning when she had time to, although that wasn't often. 

Pretty soon, the date of the wedding was fast approaching. 

Two weeks before the wedding, Sam and Kate were talking about how they would be seeing some of their old friends for the first time in years. Kate could tell that Sam was nervous- he hadn't seen Toby or the Bartlets for over eight years, and he'd only seen CJ a couple of times, right after President Santos's inauguration. Sam hadn't even been to the opening of the Bartlet Presidential Library; he'd been planning on going, but he had the flu.

Kate was feeling awkward, too, although her awkwardness was centered on one person: Will Bailey. Kate had seen her ex-boyfriend a few times since they broke up. They'd seen each other at the Bartlet Presidential Library opening, and they'd bumped into each other a couple of times around DC, but seeing him was still really strange. Kate thought it was probably because they'd still had feelings for each other when they broke up, and so the residual effects of the break-up had lingered much longer than usual. That wasn't to say that Kate didn't love Sam- of course she did. She was happier with him than she'd been with either of her two ex-husbands, and as happy with him as she'd been with Will. Happier, even, since their relationship had had longer to grow and develop.

Kate was sure that the awkwardness of being around her ex-boyfriend would only be amplified by the presence of her current boyfriend. She reluctantly decided it would be a good idea to give Sam a heads up that her ex would be there.

"So, I should warn you that an ex-boyfriend of mine is going to be at the wedding," Kate said as soon as there was a break in their conversation.

"Really? That's a coincidence; I've been meaning to tell you the same thing. Who's yours?" Sam asked. Kate had known he was bisexual; he wasn't out at work, but he'd told her pretty early on in the relationship. She was fine with it, of course; she never would have dated Will if she only went for straight men. (Although a little voice in her head had noted that she seemed to have a type, and that type was polysexual men who'd previously been President Bartlet's Deputy White House Communications Director.) 

"It's Will Bailey. You know, the congressman? I don't know how well you know him; I know he started working for President Bartlet soon after you left," Kate said.

"Seriously?" Sam asked, sounding shocked. "You dated Will Bailey?"

"Yes," Kate said, wondering what had caused such a strong reaction in Sam. "I take it you know him, then?"

"I dated him, too! Back while I was campaigning for Congress," Sam said. "I broke up with him when I quit, since I was in no shape to be in a relationship at that point, especially not a long distance one."

"Really?" Kate said. "Wow. I was not expecting that." She paused for a minute to think about it. She could actually see Sam and Will as a couple. Their personalities would go well together.

"I dated Will from Eleanor Bartlet's wedding to when I became the Deputy Secretary of State," Kate said. "We broke up because long distance would be too hard, and our relationship would make it harder for me to be confirmed and him to be elected."

"It's ironic, isn't it," Sam said, shaking his head in disbelief. "That we both dated the same man, and both broke up with him for similar reasons."

"This is going to make for some weird moments with him at the wedding," Kate commented.

"Well, it'll be efficient, at least. Instead of two people for us to be awkward around, we'll just be insanely awkward around him together," Sam said. At that, they both started laughing- less because of Sam's comment, and more at the situation in general.

The wedding was on a Sunday. Josh and Donna flew down on Friday to take care of last-minute preparations. Sam was helping out in the West Wing on Saturday to make sure that there were no last-minute issues to distract Josh on his big day, and Kate had some work to do, so they both flew down on Air Force One with the Santos's and some of the other West Wing staff. 

Unbeknownst to Sam and Kate, President Santos had also invited Will Bailey to take Air Force one down to New Hampshire with them. They only realized that he was on the plane, of course, when he sat down next to Sam, looking nervous. 

"Sorry, I'll move if this seat's taken, I just need to sit down and concentrate on not being nervous about flying for a minute," Will said. 

Sam and Kate stared at each other, each silently begging the other to be the one to speak first. 

"The seat's free," Kate said finally. She mouthed "coward" at Sam, who mouthed "sorry" back at her. "I don't remember your issues with flying being this bad."

At that, Will finally looked up and realized who he was sitting with.

"Kate! And Sam!" Will said, still sounding tense. "I didn't know you two knew each other. And yeah, it's gotten worse over the past few years. You'd think it would get better, given how often I have to fly, but it just gets worse every time. I usually take medication for longer flights, but I decided to just suffer through this one, since I don't want to take it too often."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sam asked.

"Not really. Sorry, I'm interrupting your conversation, I should get out of your way," Will said. He motioned as if he was going to get up, but then he caught a glimpse out of the window and paused his movement.

"You don't have to leave; we have plenty of chances to talk to each other. Of course, if you want to leave because it's awkward for you to sit next to two of your exes, that's completely understandable." Sam said. Apparently, he saw no use in awkwardly dancing around the issue. Kate loved him so much for that. 

"Well, normally I might take you up on that suggestion, but at the moment I'm finding that the awkwardness is helping distract me from the fear of flying," Will said. 

"Really? Then now's probably a good time to tell you that we're dating," Sam said. Kate couldn't help but wince. That wasn't the best way to tell him about their relationship, although she was glad that she hadn't had to be the one to do it.

"Seriously?" Will asked, sounding startled.

"Seriously," Kate confirmed. "For a couple of years now. Trust me, we were just as surprised as you were to find out that we'd both dated you; we only figured that out a couple of weeks ago."

"Well, that's... huh. Weird. Congratulations?" Will said, sounding as bemused as Kate and Sam had felt when they'd figured it out. 

"Yeah, I know. It couldn't get more awkward unless you were dating one of our exes," Sam said. "Wait, you aren't, are you?"

At that point, Kate decided to give into the insanity wholeheartedly and push past the awkwardness. It certainly seemed to be working for Sam.

"Well, if he's dating one of our exes, I'd hope it's one of yours. Aside from you two, I have shown uniformly terrible taste in men," Kate said.

"Well, at least it's improving. My exes are more of a mixed bag. If you went for one of them, I'd suggest Mallory- Leo's daughter, you know. Although she's married now, so maybe not so much," Sam said.

"I'm starting to understand how you two got together," Will said. He seemed torn between groaning at their antics and laughing. Kate thought for a moment about back when she and Will had been dating, and they'd been the ones bantering. She didn't regret dating Sam, of course, but that didn't mean she didn't miss Will a little bit. 

Kate looked over at Sam. For a moment, she thought that she'd seen her own feelings echoed on his face. It was gone almost immediately, but she resolved to keep an eye out. She wasn't concerned about Sam leaving her for Will; their relationship was stronger than that. But she did form the very beginnings of- it was so unlikely that it couldn't even be called a plan so much as a minuscule possibility. Kate resolved to keep a very close eye on Sam and Will over the course of the weekend, even more so than she would have usually.

Kate and Sam spent the whole flight talking with Will. Although the awkwardness was there, it was never terrible enough to make them want to end the conversation, which was otherwise thoroughly enjoyable. They even managed to thoroughly distract Will from his fear of flying.

Kate wondered what Will's recent flights had been like. If his fear had been so unmanageable to require pills, but could be mitigated with friendly,distracting conversation, she had to wonder how lonely he'd been lately, that he hadn't talked with anyone on his last few flights. Kate shelved that thought, along with the slew of emotions that had come up when Will had mentioned that he was single. 

Kate and Sam parted ways with Will once the plane landed. They were going straight to the Bartlet farm for the wedding rehearsal, while Will was going back to his hotel.

The wedding rehearsal went well, with no particular crises occurring. The success of the event was probably helped by the small size of the wedding party. Instead of opting for several bridesmaids and groomsmen, Josh and Donna had decided on just a best man (Sam) and maid of honor (Donna's sister, Annalisa, who went by Anna). The fact that Sam and Kate, who was there as Sam's girlfriend rather than as a member of the wedding party herself, were the only attendees except for the Bartlets who were not related to the bride or the groom made them feel a bit awkward at first, but both families were very welcoming towards Sam and Kate. 

Sam and Kate spent the night at the Bartlet farm, along with Josh and his mother. Donna, her parents, her sister, and her brother-in-law had been staying at the farm, too, but they stayed over at a hotel for the night instead of the farm so that the bride and groom didn't have to worry about breaking tradition by seeing each other before the wedding. 

Kate and Sam were too tired to do much more than say goodnight before going to bed. Kate wanted to discuss Will with Sam at some point, but it would have to wait until after the wedding. Kate didn't mind, though. She welcomed the extra time she'd have to observe and form conclusions before she articulated them to anyone. 

Kate spent the next morning eating brunch with the Bartlets and getting ready. Sam spent the next morning working with Mrs. Lyman to try to curb Josh's manic pre-wedding anxiety and then frantically trying to get ready in time. On the whole, Kate was glad that she didn't have any wedding duties. 

The wedding was being held outdoors, in a particularly scenic part of the farm. Kate couldn't deny it was a beautiful place for a wedding. Kate chose a seat on the groom's side. She glanced around at the rest of the guests. In addition to various friends of the couple who were currently working for the president, Kate spotted several people from the Bartlet presidency. CJ was there, along with Danny and their children. Toby had brought Huck and Molly, although he looked spectacularly uncomfortable being surrounded by so many people from his past. Charlie and Zoey were sitting up front with the Bartlets. Across the aisle, she saw the Santoses. Although both members of the couple had worked for both presidents, they had evidently decided to put one on either side of the aisle for the sake of fairness. Kate also spotted Will on the bride's side. She shot him a friendly smile, which he returned, before continuing to look around. She would have liked to continue looking at Will, but she wanted to be subtle. 

Not long after, Josh and Sam came up to stand at the front. Kate looked at Sam, wondering whether she should feel guilty for thinking about Will. She decided against it; her interest in Will was not in any way altering her love for Sam. In fact, her interest in Will was conditional on Sam sharing it. 

Kate was soon distracted by the wedding. As she watched Donna and Josh get married, she wondered whether that was something she and Sam would ever want. She didn't think so; her two divorces had taken away much of the appeal of marriage, as had Sam's two failed engagements. That being said, the idea of spending the rest of her life with Sam was pretty nice. 

Later, at the reception, Kate and Sam got the chance to talk to some of their old friends. Kate was glad to see that Sam's initial awkwardness around his old friends from the Bartlet administration had died down. Sam was soon engrossed in a conversation with CJ and Toby, who had managed to get over much of their lingering awkwardness around each other over dinner. Kate left the conversation after a few minutes, wanting to give Sam some time alone with them. 

Kate was amused by all of the congratulations she and Sam had gotten on their relationship. She supposed it was a consequence of falling out of touch with their old friends. Still, while it was odd to be congratulated on a relationship that had been going on for over two years, it was nice to receive so many well wishes.

Kate went over to talk to Charlie and Zoey. She saw them occasionally, since they still lived in DC, but their jobs and hers rarely overlapped. They'd gotten married, a few years back, in a ceremony even smaller than Josh and Donna's. Kate congratulated Zoey on her pregnancy, and talked shop with them for a while. Even though they were at a wedding, political issues were still their go-to topic of conversation. Somehow, Kate doubted that would ever change. 

After a while, Will came over and joined them. He'd evidently kept in touch with Charlie and Zoey better than she had, but they weren't close enough that she felt awkward being a part of the conversation. Kate couldn't help but think that this felt a little bit like old times. Being around so many people from the past had made her nostalgic.

Not long after, Sam came up beside her. She glanced around the room and saw CJ, Danny, and Toby collecting their children. It had gotten late without Kate noticing.

"Do you want to turn in, or stay for a while longer?" Kate asked in an undertone. She knew that Sam might be feeling overwhelmed from seeing so many people from the Bartlet administration. 

"I'm good, thanks. Or actually, let's take a short break and then come back?" Sam said equally quietly.

"We're going to go for a walk. We'll be back soon, but in case we miss seeing you, it was good catching up," Kate said to Will and the Youngs. 

Their old friends responded in kind, although Kate and Sam received a few curious looks. 

They walked out of the tent together, linking arms as they do so. Soon, they found a flat place to sit and talk, out of the way of any other guests that may have also been walking around.

"How was seeing them again?" Kate asked. Sam didn't need to ask who she was talking about.

"It was good. I was nervous about it, but CJ was great, as usual. And I though Toby might be the most uncomfortable to see again, but he was too focused on his own abrupt departure from politics to worry about mine," Sam said.

"I'm glad to hear it. How is Toby, anyways?" Kate asked, leaning comfortably against Sam.

"Toby seems okay. He's been teaching, you know. He says he hates his students, but I think he's enjoying it," Sam said. 

"I'm glad he's been able to move on," Kate said.

"Is it just me, or has seeing Will again been surprisingly not awkward?" Sam asked. 

"It's not just you. It's been nice, seeing him again. We should keep in touch with him. With all of them, really," Kate suggests. 

"I agree," Sam said. "Do you want to go back to the party?" 

"Sure," Kate agrees. 

When they get back, they can see that the crowd's thinned out. Both presidential couples had left, as had the bride and groom. Zoey and Charlie had also left, but Will was still there. One of Donna's drunk uncles seemed to have cornered him. When they got closer, they could hear that the uncle was lecturing him about something to do with the gulf war. 

"Hey, Will!" Sam said, inserting himself in the conversation. "I'm so sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Moss, but we need to steal Will away. There's a situation with a bill we've been working on, and we need his expertise." 

Before Mr. Moss had time to protest, Kate lead Will and Sam to the other side of the tent. 

"Thanks for the save," Will said gratefully. "I thought he was never going to stop talking."

"No problem," Sam said. "He tried to do the same thing to us last night. Josh kept laughing at us, until Kate told him that Josh had been looking forward to hearing his perspective on late twentieth century military techniques."

"Josh was suddenly unable to see the humor in the situation," Kate said with a smile. Will laughs, and they join in. 

The conversation flows from there. Kate would think it was just like old times, but it wasn't; it was better. Kate didn't want to count her chickens before they hatched, but she thought that the three of them together were going to be better than any pair of them could have been. 

Kate kept a close eye on the men while they talked. She could tell that Sam felt much the way that she did about Will, although she wasn't sure if he knew it. She wasn't positive about Will, but she was pretty sure he will still interested in Sam and her. 

They stayed together, talking until almost all of the guests had left. Finally, Will left to go back to his hotel, and Kate and Sam went back to their room. 

Kate didn't say anything to Sam about Will that night, or even that week. There would be time for that later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline:  
> 2/2009- Kate and Sam start dating.  
> 3/2010- Kate and Sam move in together.  
> 8/2011- Josh and Donna get married.


	4. Time: October 2011

Sam thought it was probably odd that he and his girlfriend had become so close to their mutual ex-boyfriend. They'd talked it over, though, and he'd agreed with Kate when she concluded that there was no point in avoiding Will just because they were supposed to do so. Sam was glad she felt that way. He enjoyed being around Will, and the three of them had become great friends. 

Sam couldn't deny that he still felt something for Will, though. It had been over eight years since they'd dated, but Sam could definitely remember what he'd seen in Will. That didn't mean he didn't love Kate; of course he did, more than anything in the world. He just also had a bit of a thing for Will. 

Sam felt guilty about this, but not enough to try to stop being around Will or tell Kate. It wasn't as though he was planning on doing anything about his thing for Will, and he was still completely committed to Kate. 

Besides, sometimes Sam thought that Kate might also still be interested in Will. He knew she wasn't going to cheat on him, of course; he was secure enough in their relationship not to worry about that. But he thought she might feel the same way about Will that he did. 

Sam didn't know what to do about this suspicion, so he did nothing. Kate, however, had different plans.

They'd just gotten back from going out for lunch with Will when Kate said, "We need to talk. Nothing bad, don't worry."

"Sounds serious," Sam said, concerned despite her reassurances.

"Look, I'm going to be blunt because there isn't really a better way to bring this up. You have a crush on Will. I have a crush on Will. We should consider polyamory," Kate said.

Sam was about to protest that he wasn't going to cheat on her with Will when the rest of her statements sunk in. 

"You think we should date Will? Together?" Sam asked, surprised.

"It's just an idea. I'm really happy with our relationship as it is, and it's completely fine if you hate the idea. I love you, and that's not going to change regardless of what we decide. But there's no denying that we're interested in him, and he's interested in us. The three of us together might be pretty amazing," Kate said hopefully.

"I definitely don't hate the idea. But you've taken me by surprise. Let me think about it for a few days?" Sam asked. 

"Sounds good. Let me know if you want to talk it over," Kate said.

"I'll take you up on that at some point. Not yet, though," Sam decided.

"That's perfectly fine. So, do you want to watch that new superhero movie we rented? Captain America?" Kate asked.

Sam agreed. Throughout the movie, and the next few days in general, his mind kept drifting back to the idea of dating Will with Kate. He turned it over in his head, considering it from all possible angles. 

Sam was definitely attracted to Will and interested in him. In that regard, he liked the idea of dating Will very much. 

Sam would have normally been jealous if Kate had been interested in somebody else, but he decided that he was strangely fine with it. He considered what it would be like to see them together, and he found that he was definitely on board with that. Sam thought that it definitely made a difference that he and Kate would be dating Will together; instead of it being a source of jealousy, Sam thought that adding Will would add another dimension to their relationship, in a very good way.

Sam knew that it would risk their careers. Polyamory wasn't accepted in general, much less when the three members of the relationship were a White House aide, the Deputy Secretary of State, and a Congressman. If this relationship were to be revealed, it would mean the end of all of their political careers. 

Kate knew that, though, and she was evidently willing to take that risk. Sam thought he was, too. He had the least to lose. While he enjoyed working at the White House, he could definitely be happy without it. His writing career wouldn't suffer because of their relationship. He might lose some readers, but he'd gain others who started reading his series out of curiosity after the scandal. He definitely didn't want to see Kate and Will lose their jobs, but he knew it wasn't his place to decide whether the risk was worth it for them. 

Of course, Sam wasn't entirely sure that Will would even want to date them. Kate thought he was definitely interested in them, but there was a big difference between being interested in a couple and wanting to start a polyamorous relationship with them. There was a big risk that Will wouldn't even want to be friends with them after they asked him out. He didn't want to lose Will's friendship, but he thought that the reward just might outweigh the risk.

Finally, Sam had made his decision. Three days after Kate suggested they start dating Will, Sam started another conversation with her.

"Let's do it," Sam said.

"Do what?" Kate asked.

"Let's ask Will out," Sam said.

Kate grinned. "This is either going to be really amazing, or kill all of our careers."

"Let's hope for the first, then," Sam said, with more confidence than he felt. He really was worried about the political consequences for all of them if their relationship was discovered. He just also agreed with Kate that this could be amazing enough to outweigh the risks.


	5. Time: December 2011- 2013

Will had known something was going on when Kate and Sam invited him over to their house for dinner. They'd both sounded strangely excited and nervous.

Will had suspected that Kate was pregnant. He'd been prepared to congratulate the happy couple, no matter how jealous he was of them. His assumption had been supported by the fact that they didn't drink wine or beer with dinner, like they often did. 

Then, Sam and Kate had dropped their bombshell. 

"We'd like you to go out with us. Together. On a date. The three of us," Kate said. "It's completely fine if you don't want to, of course. But we're interested in you, and we thought you might be interested in us?"

Sam and Kate both looked intensely nervous. It was that, more than anything, that convinced Will that this wasn't some strange, cruel joke they were playing on him. Still, he had to ask. "Really?"

"Yes, really. We're happy together, but we thought it would be even better if we added you," Sam said. "But as Kate said, there's no pressure for you to agree to this. We're aware it's an unusual suggestion, and the consequences of it becoming publicly known would kill our careers. But we think it's worth asking you anyways."

Will was left speechless. He was interested in Kate and Will, of course. They were both amazing, and neither of his relationships with them had ended due to a lack of interest. But he would never dream of interfering with their relationship. He'd never even considered the idea that they might want to add him to it. 

He would have said yes in an instant if he wasn't afraid of the political repercussions. His career was important to him, and he didn't want to put it at risk for a relationship that might not even end well. On the other hand, he'd always put his career before his romantic relationships, and he was sick of always putting what he wanted second.

"I don't know. Let me think about it for a while, okay? The idea of dating you two is very tempting, but I don't know if I'm willing to risk my career for it," Will said.

"We understand completely," Kate said, looking relieved that he hadn't rejected them outright. "It's a big risk. Let us know what you decide. You can take as long as you like."

Sam echoed what Kate had said, then they moved on to less important topics. 

In the end, Will took almost two years before he took them up on their offer. He stayed friends with them in the meantime, and he didn't date anyone else. Sam and Kate made sure he knew that the offer was always open, but they never pressured him to date them. Finally, Will decided that he was completely, totally in love with the two of them, and the possible risk to his job couldn't compete with that.


	6. Time: 2030's

Kate was glad that she and Sam no longer had to hide their relationship with Will. In some ways, it hadn't been hard; they'd thrown off a lot of suspicion simply by having Will move in to the apartment next to theirs. Will made sure that his apartment looked lived in, or at least as lived in as any busy politician's apartment got, but he spent almost all of his time over at Sam and Kate's. 

In other ways, though, it had been very hard. It had been the worst for Will; he'd had to pretend that he was single, and face scrutiny from everyone who thought that he shouldn't be, at his age. He was out as pan, or else rumors would have been flying around anyways about him being gay. As it was, DC was filled with rumors about why Will wasn't dating anyone. It was considered common knowledge that Will had a secret lover somewhere, although rumors about why he kept his relationship a secret varied wildly. 

By the time they had all reached retirement age, though, they were tired. Sam had quit working at the West Wing a few years back, so he could focus on writing. Kate's career had flourished, but she couldn't deny that she had gotten tired of constantly dealing with the crises that were a natural consequence of politicians who couldn't keep their egos in check. Will was also doing well politically, but he couldn't deny that he was also sick of all the petty infighting that had replaced real political discussion long ago. In short, they were ready to retire.

At the end of Will's last term as Speaker of the House, Kate retired from her post. The trio bought a house in California. Sam missed the sun and the ocean, Will wanted to live near Elsie, and Kate was happy wherever her partners were. 

Their relationship became public soon enough, but none of them really minded. They were all done with their political careers, and it didn't negatively impact Sam's book sales. They'd already told their families and close friends, all of whom had been supportive sooner or later. After so much time focusing on their careers, it was nice to finally focus on themselves and their loves.


End file.
